Majority of FAs Dissatisfied with Their Firms’ Front and Back Office

Financial advisors believe back-office operations are essential to the success of their firms — but the majority aren’t completely happy with either their firm’s back- or front-office operations, according to a recent survey by a third-party provider of such services.

Ninety-one percent of advisors think back-office operations are important or very important, according to a recent survey by TAMP provider FTJ FundChoice and WealthManagement.com.

But only 24% of advisors say they’re very satisfied with how their firms handle front and back office operations, according to the survey, which polled 300 financial advisors, RIAs, financial planners and executives in December. And that’s despite the finding that 60% of advisors have some input into their firms’ decisions regarding that aspect of the business, FTJ FundChoice found. But the company believes the key to more satisfaction is more advisor involvement, it says in a press release.

Close to 60% of advisors say their firms handle back office operations in-house, while 35% say their firms use a combination of in-house and outsourced services, according to the survey.

Advisors’ main concerns about their back office operations are compliance requirements, efficiency and ease of use, FTJ FundChoice says. Cost of services, meanwhile, ranks as advisors' lowest concern, according to the survey.